Eli Manning took a giant step toward playing this week when he practiced yesterday and took half of the first-team snaps. The Giants quarterback is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game with Green Bay, but backup Jared Lorenzen said he thinks Manning can play, and team officials said they’d be “shocked” if he didn’t.

He not only took snaps for the first time since suffering a contusion to the A-C joint of his right shoulder during last week’s loss in Dallas, but also he threw a variety of different routes and threw them all well. The Giants don’t have to name a starter until 90 minutes before kickoff, and questionable means there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll play, but those seem like pretty good odds after yesterday.

“If he can play, he’s going to do it,” said Lorenzen, who could conceivably start and be spelled by Manning if needed. “I’ve been talking to him, [saying] ‘If you want any reps tell me. I’m not trying to cut you off from your reps or anything.’ It was awesome. It was really good to see him out there.

“He took probably about half of [the reps] in everything, a little under half the reps in every session that we had. I don’t know exactly what the number was, but it was good. He threw some good balls. I think he can go out there and play.”

If Manning can play, it would be a huge boost for the Giants, especially with running back Brandon Jacobs out with a sprained MCL in his right knee. The Giants steadfastly listed Manning as day-to-day despite reports he’d be gone for a month, and now could be getting their offensive leader back.

“Who said he was gone?” asked tackle Kareem McKenzie. “It’d be great to see him out there playing. It’d be a lift overall from the fan and team standpoint just seeing that guys aren’t as bad off as the media thinks they are.”

Manning hadn’t practiced since he injured his shoulder on a fourth-quarter sack by Dallas rookie linebacker Anthony Spencer, but he threw a myriad of different routes yesterday in an encouraging display.

“It was good to see him out there. He was with us the whole time. He wasn’t doing soft toss on the side and got a lot of reps. That’s awesome,” Lorenzen said. “If I have any possibility at all of playing I want to be out there, but you’ve got to realize where we’re coming from.

“This is Eli Manning. He’s going to go out there and he’s going to play if at all possible. I’d love to play, I think I’m prepared to play, and I think all the guys are starting to believe in me. But this is Eli’s team. We’re just going to go as far as he can carry us.”

Manning has made 40 straight starts, 42 including the playoffs. Although that streak is in jeopardy, yesterday was far more positive than initial reports of Manning having a separated shoulder and facing a month on the sidelines.

“For that to happen and him be out there on a Friday making plays is incredible,” Lorenzen said. “He was throwing fade routes, nice hard slant routes. He made every throw that was out there to make. He made the tight throws when he needed to, and put some air under it when he didn’t.”